SUMMER READING BOOKS

THE IDEA: 

Reading is a very powerful way to experience new things, to learn, and be entertained. For me, this experience can be even more meaningful when you share it with others. I will choose a book that we can share as a group each month. Sometimes students will have input in that decision. Sometimes the decision may be made based on availability. I will provide a loose schedule so that we may read together. If you read slower or faster, work at your own pace. I just felt the group needed some guidelines to avoid someone giving away part of the book during our discussions. These discussions will take place on a wiki specially designed for this group. You may come in and out of this club at your choice. It is totally voluntary. Let me know if you struggle at any point or have any suggestions on improving the club! Thanks for being part of this!! 

Participants:

• Are expected to participate and routinely find something to share in a post. This can be comments, quotes, or questions. Although this appears very structured, there is no pressure to stay with the group. Work at your own pace.

Guidelines for Entries:

Some of the most powerful entries can be, but are not limited to:

• Something you learned or are interested in learning more about from the reading,
• A powerful quote or literary technique that makes the book more interesting, 
• A personal connection to something that happens or is said in the book, and
• Any related question. 

Peter and the Starcatchers

This fantasy is the first in a series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. This book is a fast-paced and fluffy pirate adventure, complete with talking porpoises, stinky rogues, possible cannibals, a flying crocodile, biting mermaids, and a much-sought-after trunk full of magical glowing green "starstuff." Ever hear of Zeus? Michelangelo? Attila the Hun? According to 14-year-old Molly Aster they all derived their powers from starstuff that occasionally falls to Earth from the heavens. On Earth, it is the Starcatchers' job to rush to the scene and collect the starstuff before it falls into the hands of the Others who use its myriad powers for evil.

On board the ship Never Land, an orange-haired boy named Peter, the leader of a group of orphaned boys being sent off to work as servants in King Zarboff the Third's court, is puzzled by his shipmate Molly's fantastical story of starstuff, but it inextricably binds him to her. Peter vows to help his new, very pretty friend Molly (a Starcatcher's apprentice) keep a mysterious trunk full of the stuff out of the clutches of the pirate Black Stache, a host of other interested parties, and ultimately King Zarboff the Third.

The downright goofy, modern 8-year-old boy humor sometimes clashes with an old-time pirate sensibility, and the rapid-fire dialogue, while well paced, is far from inventive. Still, the high-seas hijinks and desert-island shenanigans will keep readers turning the pages. Greg Call's wonderful black-and-white illustrations are deliciously old-fashioned and add plenty of atmosphere to a silly, swashbuckling story that shows us how Peter Pan came to fly and why he, and his story, will never get old. --Karin Snelson, modified from an Amazon.com Review

Time/Date: 

BOOK OF TIME

This book is the first in a series of three by Guillaume Prevost. (The next two are Gate of Days and Circle of Gold.) In this story, Sam has recently lost his mother and now his father has disappeared. His search to find him will lead him on an unexpected journey through time. In this book, you will visit Ancient Eygpt, France during WWI and England during the Middle Ages. Sam will also fight Vikings and look for a way to the home of Vlad the Impaler.  Will he beat Monk, his arch enemy and the school bully, in the black belt competition? Will Sam find his father?

Time/Date: 

AIRBORN

Through this link, I will be working/ reading Airborn by Kenneth Oppel with you. It is a GREAT fantasy book with a little science fiction, historical fiction, and a little romance rolled into one. It's main character, Matt, is working to build a future for himself after his father dies working in the same job. While working as a steward on an fantastic flying ship, he meets Kate. She is a well-to-do passenger on board who is searching for an imaginary animal discovered by her grandfather and recorded in his journal before he died. Together these two will take on encounters with a flying panther creature, pirates, being kidnapped, and the hijacking of the ship. Together the two are strong and persistant. The book is high in action and adventure.

Time/Date: 

Although this appears very structured, there is no pressure to stay with the group. If you red slower or faster, work at your own pace. I just felt the group needed some guidelines to avoid someone giving away part of the book during our discussions. Let me know if you struggle at any point or have any suggestions on improving the club! Thanks for being part of this!! 

Participants:

• Are expected to participate and routinely find something to share in a post. This can be comments, quotes, or questions.

Guidelines for Entries:

Some of the most powerful entries can be, but are not limited to:

• Something you learned or are interested in learning more about from the reading,
• A powerful quote or literary technique that makes the book more interesting, 
• A personal connection to something that happens or is said in the book, and
• Any related question. 

The first link below leads you to the Airborn Blog also. The second is to the author's official website (one of the coolest I have ever seen!). 

Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel